Potter Primary School for Magical Children;
Needed Real World Information:
English Years are equal to US grades minus one. So Year One in England is US kindergarten, Year Two is First Grade and so on.
So It Goes like this:
Reception (UK)= Preschool (US)
Year One (UK)=Kindergarten (US)
Year Two (UK)= First Grade (US)
Year Three (UK)= Second Grade (US)
Year Four (UK)= Third Grade (US)
Year Five (UK)= Fourth Grade (US)
Year Six (UK)= Fifth Grade (US)
Year Seven (UK)= Sixth Grade (US)
Money Conversion:
1 Galleon= £5= $10.07
1 Sickle=£ .29=$.59
1 Knut= £.01=$.02
Summary: Potter Primary School for Magical Children: In light of fears of exposure to the muggles the Wizarding world of the UK funded and built a primary school. Even Muggleborns are now introduced to the magical world in order to allow them to attend. Named after the Potters, with the blessing of Harry, this school is staffed by squibs, Muggleborns, and Half-bloods who had earned their teacher credentials in the muggle world. Students learn all the age-corresponding Muggle subjects along with basic potions and herbology. The school is close to Hogwarts but separate. An iron-wrought fence and powerful wards surround the property. The coat of arms is a Griffin with green eyes. Each student is sorted onto four teams (purple, pink, orange and white) which functions the same as Hogwarts houses. Good behavior will earn points for the team and bad behavior loses them. Every month the points are added up and the team with the highest amount will earn a special privilege for the next month. This school is a day school, meaning kids go home after their lessons. The Floo Network and portkeys are used exstensively, although the young children are escorted home by side-along apparation. The school has several emergency evacuation tunnels to into Hogwarts Castle itself. A team of Aurors is always present.
Motto:
Official: "Vitam vivere plenissima. Amare profundissimum. Vita est Miracle. Non dissipabit illud."
(Eng. "Live Life To the Fullest. Love The Deepest. Life is a Miracle. Don't Waste It.".)
Unofficial: "In nomine Potteri."
(Eng. "In the Name of the Potters")
More Specifics:
Tuition: 50 Galleons or £250 Yearly
Important Staff:
Co-Headmaster: Remus John Lupin, a Hogwarts graduate and best friend of the late Potters is one of two headmasters of this school. Despite being a werewolf. He is the responsible one although he is a prankster at heart. Never endanger his students for you will not like his response. He is in charge of the paperwork and discipline bits of running the school.
Co-Headmaster: Sirius Orion Black, a Hogwarts graduate and best friend of the Potters, is the other Headmaster. He is the Headmaster in charge of public relations, student relations, school wide activities and hiring. A prankster at heart, he is known to wander the campus in his Animagus form, of a very large black dog, observing the going-ons. He is also very protective of his students.
Deputy Heads: The Deputy Heads are in charge of security for the school and so are retired Aurors Alice and Frank Longbottom. They lead a force of ten Aurors and three Hit-Wizards. They are friendly, kindly people who are always ready to help their charges in any matter.
School Nurse/Matron: Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) is a certified Pediatric Healer and is employed by the PPSMC because of her skill and motherly but tough disposition. She takes no nonsense and is quite terrifying when need be. Do not harm her charges.
Coach: Herbert Peterson, a squib who had had a sports career in the muggle before becoming certified as a physical education teacher. He's a harsh taskmaster, having been compared to a drill sergeant, but genuinely cares about the students.
Head Counselor: Alexia Promina, a squib with degrees in psychology and pediatric psychology, helms the counseling staff made up of ten squib and muggleborn psychologists and pediatric mind-healers from Saint Mungo's.
Head Groundskeeper: Scott Blatt, a German wizard brought up in England and a graduate of Dumstrang, is the head of a team of House-Elves whose sole job is caring for the grounds. Blatt is inordinately skilled in herbology magic and can even bring dead plants back to life with enough work.
Caretaker: Jacob Schaaph, a squib that grew up in Israel after his pureblood family put him up for adoption. His mind was scrubbed of all information regarding his family so he has no memory of what family he belonged to. He met Remus Lupin while the latter was wandering the world listlessly. They kept in touch and Schaaph was hired to oversee the five hundred or so house-elves that run PPSMC. He is a converted Jew, having no memory before the age of seven. He was brought up, adopted by a wonderful, elderly couple who were childless. He is humble and kind and very devout but understanding of other religions and viewpoints.
Head Apprater: Lenny Whitewater, a Hogwarts graduate, is in charge of twenty-five witches and wizards whose sole jobs are to side-along apparate students whose parents cannot pick them up.
Director of Buses: Alicia McWaren, a squib, who coordinates the small fleet of school coaches (US: Buses) that transport the Muggleborns to and from the school.
School Things:
ID Card: Within the first week, professional photographers are brought in to take professional head-shots of everyone staff, and students alike. These photographs will be used in the yearly yearbooks and on the Identification Cards issued to everyone. The cards are carried by everyone at all time on campus. The cards hold for students Year, Gender, Age, and Team. For staff the cards hold Position(s), Experience, Magical or Squib, and whether they have Tenure or not.
Teams:
Each student is placed on a color team. This functions much the same as Hogwarts Houses even though PPSMC is a day school. Each team has its own mascot. Good behavior, class participation and sports winnings earn points for the team while bad behavior, cheating, and poor sportsmanship will lose points. At the end of each month the points are tallied and the team with the most earns a reward of some sort. On the first day of school The Sorting Hat is brought over from Hogwarts to assign the incoming students to teams.
The Teams are as Follow:
Purple: The purple team is represented by a Venomous Tentacula. The purples are very earthy kids, friendly and very balanced mentally, emotionally, and physically. Earn the friendship of a Purple and you have it for life unless you do something extremely and unbelievably terrible. They tend to go on to become Hufflepuffs.
Orange: The orange team is represented by a phoenix. The oranges are daredevils. They are brave and crazy. You want an orange to have your back in any fight. They tend to become Gryffindors.
Pinks: The pinks are represented by a lion-dragon. They are the bookworms and as such tend to be the weakest kids. But their knowledge makes them dangerous. Always helpful with sound advice and happy to help plan ahead for whatever reason. They tend to split between Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
Whites: The whites have the great white stag as their mascot. Strong but kind, they bridge the gaps between all four teams easily. They are known for standing up for what is right, protecting those that are too weak or scared to protect themselves. They are able to get into any Hogwarts house they want.
Classes:
The school year starts on September Second, a day after Hogwarts and a day ahead of Hogwarts Institution of Higher Magical Learning.
The school year ends on June 30th, a day ahead of Hogwarts and a day behind Hogwarts Institution of Higher Magical Learning. They have two weeks off for both Christmas and Easter holidays and have Halloween off of classes as well. On Halloween there is a special ceremony, a remembrance and memorial ceremony is held, remembering all the victims of the war. Then at night there is a separate ceremony for the Potters.
Classes run for six days a week, (MTWTFS) but the entire complex is open for the entire week
Reception (US: Preschool) and First Year (Kindergarten) classes are four hours long and are split, going from 8 am to 12 pm (Morning Classes) and then from 12 pm to 4 pm (Afternoon Classes).
The rest go for eight hours a day starting at 8 am and letting out at 4 pm. Only Years Six and Seven (grades five and six) ever move to different classes and that is only once a week for an integrated Herbology and Potions class. There is a half hour morning recess and an hour lunch.
Once a week each Year (grade) has a Physical Education Class.
There are three levels of classes: Supportive, Common, and Advanced. Each student is tested and is placed in an appropriate class. At the end of the year they are retested
Supportive: For those students that just need a little more extra help than usual in their studies for whatever reason. The Supportive classes take the material slower than the Common classes.
Common: The normal, grade-level students. They don't need too much help but they aren't geniuses either. Regular students at regular speed.
Advanced: These classes are for the gifted children and move at a very fast pace in going over the material. They also go into the material deeper than normal classes do. They are assigned more work and have a heavier workload than the other classes.
Buses: There are fifteen (15) buses that belong to the school itself. These are normal muggle school buses that have the same enchantments as the Knight Bus. Driven by wizards and witches; ten (10) of them can each seat ninety-five (95) kids. Five (5) are reserved for the Reception kids and First Years and are much smaller, only seating thirty-five (35) kids. The Little Buses, as they're known, also have an adult rider to help with the little kids. All fifteen (15) buses are the same color as their muggle counterparts, however they are not labeled, as they are used to transport Muggleborns and half-bloods living in muggle areas to and from the school. The bigger ones are also used for field trips.
Important Places in the School:
The Administrative Building (AKA A-Building AKA A-B, AKA A-Sphere, AKA Head Sphere, AKA H-Sphere): The first and tallest building on campus. The ground floor (US: First Floor) holds the office
which visitors must check into. This office is staffed by three Aurors and three squibs who register guests as they arrive. Here they are given name tags, their wands are registered where applicable, and they are escorted from and to their destinations. This office also handles attendance.
On the first floor (US: Second Floor) is the security offices and those of the Deputy Heads. This has a large waiting room and two detainment cells. The fireplace has direct access to the Auror offices of the Ministry of Magic.
The second floor (US: Third Floor) is the counseling offices and Squib Support offices. Here students can seek help with their issues and planning their futures with the help of trained professionals. The fireplace here is directly connected to Saint Mungo's mental help offices and services.
The highest floor is reserved for the offices of Headmasters Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Headmaster Lupin's office is very serious and sort of scary. He also has a specialized detainment cell for the nights he transforms. He has very hard furniture and bookcases line the walls. But there is often tea, with sugar and cream , and biscuits on offer.
Headmaster Black's office is fun, warm, and inviting. His office furniture is very relaxed, being beanbag chairs and overstuffed armchairs. Low tables are covered in plates of sweets and biscuits. Pitchers full of lemonade, teas, and hot cocoa sit with mugs and cups of sugars and creams.
Both offices have direct access to the Head Office of Hogwarts.`
This building is decorated by a large sign proclaiming the school's name, official motto, and date of establishment. It is on the main floor's outside wall facing the entrance of the campus.
Bus Stop: Right next to A-building is the bus loop, where the buses drop of and pick up their students. The waiting area has a roof over it and picnic tables. On rainy, wet days, clear walls can be brought down to keep out the wind, rain, snow, or slush. When the walls are down, heated air can be pumped into the building through floor vents lining the perimeter. This area has two to three Aurors assigned to it every afternoon. The Reception and First Year Teachers escort their charges to and from the buses themselves.
Café/Cafeteria/Mess Hall: In the middle of the campus sits the Cafeteria. Open the entire day this is staffed by house-elves who work as kitchen staff and wait-staff. Meals are included in the yearly tuition and students can bring either muggle or Wizarding money to buy snacks and other goodies. There are dozens of round tables, each seats six, and quite a few booths, again seats six. There are also tables dotting the outside. Students are given three main course options for breakfast and lunch, two vegetable options for lunch, and a wide selection of drink options. They sit down at a table, a House-Elf waiter appears to take the orders and then return with said food. Though the Reception and First Years take their lunches and snacks in their classrooms.
Playground/Play Park: A large playground is the next biggest attraction for the students. Taking the best of both worlds this playground has everything a child could want in a playground. The jungle gym teaches athletic and coordination skills and children are encouraged to socialize in games and play. They also have a few soccer, rugby, and baseball/softball fields near the back of the school that are always watched over by teachers.
The Evans Memorial Library: Named after Lily Potter's maiden name, this library has a copy of every age-appropriate book that had been in the Potter personal library. Flourish and Blotts has donated several hundred children's books and textbooks. Muggleborns had been sent to bookstores and book companies to buy books. They also brought back catalogues for easy ordering.
The library is very colorful, with bright cheery colors, and words of inspiration and encouragement decorate the walls.
There are three floors to the library, the upmost floor being a study area. The study area also has a bank of twelve typewriters.
Two librarians man a circular desk in the very center of the ground floor. To the south of them is a bank of six typewriters. The ground floor is reserved mostly for the younger kids and there are areas set aside for story-times.
Auditorium: The auditorium can seat all the students (nearly three thousand at full capacity) and can also be locked down in case of an emergency. The windows, tiny little things at the very top, and walls are bomb proof. The auditorium is used for promotions and assemblies.
Nurse's Building: A small building houses the realm of Andromeda Tonks. She has seven open beds, four reclining chairs, and several waiting chairs. A locked cabinet holds her medicinal supplies as she uses both magical and muggle. A very large fireplace, large enough for a group of seven to Floo all together, connects her to the pediatric floor of Saint Mungo's and the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts.
Reception/Year One Building (AKA RY1-Building AKA RY1 AKA Baby Building AKA Little Kids' Building AKA Kiddie Classes): A two floor building that houses ten classes on each floor. Each class is twenty (20) students big and has two teachers. There are restrooms on each floor. To get to the first floor (US: Second Floor) you must use one of three lifts (US: Elevators), each will hold the weight of thirty adults. Reception is on the ground floor (US First Floor), Year one on the First Floor (US: Second Floor). Attached to the building is a smaller version of the playground and ten picnic tables, that hold eight people each, under an awning. Benches are also offered, six that hold twelve people each. This area is fenced and warded in, separate from the bigger kids for safety.
Year Two/Year Three Building (AKA Y2Y3-Building AKA Y2Y3): Another two floor building with ten classes on each floor. Each class sits twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) students and has one teacher. Three lifts that can hold the weight of thirty adults each are used to get to the first floor (US: Second floor). Year Two is held on the ground floor (US: First Floor) and Year Three on the First Floor (US: Second Floor).
Year Four/ Year Five Building (AKA Y4Y5-Building AKA Y4Y5): Another two floor building with ten classes on each floor. Each class sits twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) students and has one teacher. Three lifts that can hold the weight of thirty adults each are used to get to the first floor (US: Second floor). Year Four is held on the ground floor (US: First Floor) and Year Five on the First Floor (US: Second Floor).
Year Six/ Year Seven Building (AKA Y6Y7-Building AKA Y6Y7): Another two floor building with ten classes on each floor. Each class sits twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) students and has one teacher. Three lifts that can hold the weight of thirty adults each are used to get to the first floor (US: Second floor). Year Six is held on the ground floor (US: First Floor) and Year Seven on the First Floor (US: Second Floor). Year Seven are usually the children that fall beyond the yearly cutoff birthdate for First Years at Hogwarts so the classes tend to be rather small.
The Potions' Building (AKA P-Building AKA The Kitchens): A specially built building that houses three classrooms set up specifically for basic potion lessons. Each room has large windows and emergency showers in class of toxic fumes or spills. Each class is taught by one teacher who has two assistants.
Greenhouses (AKA The Garden AKA The Jungle AKA The Nursery): Four greenhouses are on campus Each is set up for basic Herbology classes. Each also has a portable classroom adjunct to them for non-practical Herbology classes. There are four Herbology teachers who each have three assistants.
Textbooks:
The school uses the muggle made Rainbow System (strongly based on the Real World US Spectrum System merged with the Scholastic Success With… books). Each student is required to buy the year appropriate books. These books are practice books, paperback, with lessons and, in the case of language arts, stories. Flourish and Blotts stocks the books and they each cost two (2) sickles or £.59. Teachers usually have at least one copy of each book from which they can copy worksheets as students are bound to forget to bring their own at some point or other.
They are also colored code by subject.
Rainbow System
Cover Colors:
Reddish-Orange: Reading
Reddish-Brown: Science
Neon Green: Language Arts
Yellow: Literature (This book is the biggest, being at least three inches thick, based strongly on McDougal-Littel's Language of Literature line. Has hardbound companion book that is at least three inches thick and a foot long and wide that each class has a class set of as such the students do not have to buy a copy. The practice book has selected selections from the big book, activities for engaged reading, note-taking areas, and writing activities. The hardbound has reading selections, historical background for said selections, reading activities, writing activities, dictionary, and writer's workbook ).
Bright Blue: Test Preparation
Purple: Maths
Soft Green/Light Green: Enrichment Maths
Green: Writing
Violet: Spelling
Sky Blue: Vocabulary
Dark Blue: Geography
The Reception and Year One Classes also use the Ready Learner System.
Years Six and Seven also use the Following;
Basic Brewing by Earl Batch: An introductory course on Potion-making. This comes in two parts. The hardbound textbook and the paperback workbook.
Handy Herbology by Gefion Grænmeti: An introductory course on Herbology. This comes in two parts. The hardbound textbook and the paperback workbook.
Both sets are purchasable at Flourish and Blotts for seven (7) sickles a piece or one (1) galleon bundled or £five (5) bundled
Apparel: For the Uniforms and Apparel parents of students can go through either a muggle uniform company or Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley.
School Uniform:
All students are required to have the following uniform and wear it daily.
White or off white undershirt.
Grey jumper (a Team colored patch will be added after the Sorting).
Black blazer
Blue or black tie
Trousers that go pass the knees (black or grey)
Calf high woolen socks (grey or black)
Black trainers suitable for running.
The Physical Education Uniform :
Required to be worn in Physical Education classes, Potions, and Herbology.
Grey undecorated shirt (long or short sleeved)
Blue trousers or shorts
Short blue socks
Black Trainers suitable for running. Must also be liquid proof.
Other Apparel:
These things are also required for Years Six and Seven:
Dragonhide gloves, Common Welsh Green.
Fitted Protective Goggles, clear. No other colors allowed.
Hair nets.
Aprons, white or black. No words or other decals allowed.
Other Supplies:
For everything else the students have the choice between Wizarding or Muggle style school supplies. The only thing absolutely required is a date book/planner.